Mail Order Bride for Two [Badlands 1] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) (3 page)

Two men certainly wasn’t what she’d planned, but something elusive in the way they looked at her said this unusual agreement should at least be considered. It might even be the right thing to do. She didn’t want to go back to New York. She had no family. She didn’t have any money. The two men offering a chance were incredibly attractive. Plus, there was something in the way they regarded her that made her feel protected and safe. How long since she’d felt really safe?

Quickly mulling over her bleak choices, she made a decision. “Yes. I do wish to get married now. I’d like for this arrangement to be official. Please.”

Logan grinned and offered her an arm. Derek took her traveling bag from her and leaned into kiss her cheek. He whispered, “You won’t be sorry. We’ll take good care of you.”

“That would be nice for a change.” She placed her hand on Logan’s arm, satisfied she’d made the best agreement given her circumstances.

Clarissa wasn’t sure exactly what to expect in the marriage bed anyway. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. She knew the mechanics of what went on between women and men during the most intimate of moments. She’d seen a very dramatic representation of the sex act once.

Plus, there was the time she’d almost participated in a form of the act. She shivered and discarded the memory of that ruinous event.

These two men weren’t frightening. Operating on instinct alone, she marched forward to a new and unexpected life.

They made arrangements for the rest of her luggage to be delivered to the local hotel and led her to the only church in town. Before God, Derek and the minister’s wife, she swore to love, honor and obey Logan Granger. When the minister announced that they were man and wife and he could “kiss the bride,” Logan pecked the corner of her mouth. Derek stepped closer and also pecked her on the cheek for what he called “a congratulations kiss.” Thirty minutes later she wore two interlocking gold bands, one from each man, on the third finger of her left hand and mentally tested her new name, Clarissa Granger.

Derek didn’t seem to be bothered that she didn’t share his name. It was understood. She belonged to both men regardless of her name. And for the first time in a long while, she felt secure.

An additional thrill of anticipatory excitement unwound throughout her body as visions of the coming night slid into her mind. The honeymoon promised to be a salacious success.

Chapter 3

Derek took careful consideration of his new “wife”, Clarissa. The moment she’d spoken at the train platform, her voice had drizzled over him like a cool spring rain after the heat of a long hard ride. She wasn’t a tall, willowy brunette like the description of the woman they’d been expecting. Honey-haired, medium height and curvy in all the right places, Clarissa was an unexpected surprise. Like expecting leftover, warmed up chopped meat for supper and getting a juicy beef steak to savor instead.
 

She hadn’t said much after leaving the minister. Although, she hadn’t balked during the short ceremony, it wasn’t a stretch to imagine she might think she was in over her head. He planned to make it his goal to ensure that she never had a moment’s fear in that regard.

“Would you like to get something to eat before we adjourn upstairs to our rooms?” Derek asked.

Clarissa visibly startled at his first word. Her soft gaze hit him square in the gut every time she looked in his direction. He felt the pangs of love and protection begin to filter around his heart. This was a woman he could fall in love with very easily, if he hadn’t started already.

“I don’t think I could eat, but thank you all the same.”

Logan led the way to the hotel. They’d already decided to enter through the side door so as not to call attention to the three of them going upstairs. The nosy busybodies in town didn’t need any fresh fodder for their gossip mills.

Derek watched Clarissa carefully. Her demeanor and the rigid set of her body suggested she was trying to bear up to what came next with false bravado. She didn’t need it though.

“You don’t have to be frightened.”

Her breath shot out like a quiet huff of disbelief and her amber gaze drilled through him like a firebrand. “I appreciate that, but deeds speak louder than words.”

Derek’s sudden half-smile seemed to put her at ease. “Got it. I’ll make sure my deeds mirror my words whenever we’re together.”

Logan held the door for her once they arrived at the room. Clarissa hesitated for a moment in the doorway, but then entered quickly.

The large, soft inviting brass bed centered in the room greeted them. Derek couldn’t wait to begin the honeymoon. Once the door shut behind them, Derek placed her bags near the door and moved closer to take care of what he considered unfinished business between them. Her attention was focused on the bed, her expression that of someone having second thoughts about their recent actions.
 

“May I have a kiss?” Again she startled as he spoke.

Clarissa inhaled deeply and glanced at Logan, who grinned. She turned to face him. “Certainly.”

Derek didn’t want to frighten her, but he
did
want to make his point. Kissing was important. The first passionate kiss shared between a man and a woman was especially imperative to his way of thinking. The peck he gave her on her cheek at the church didn’t count.

Cupping her face in his large hands, he lowered his mouth slowly. He stopped a breath from her lips taking a moment to anticipate what she would taste like. Her fingers rose from her sides and gripped his forearms before he connected.

Derek completed the connection. Blissfully soft and yielding lips met his in a lip-lock he wouldn’t ever forget. He licked her mouth open with his tongue to invade the warm space inside. She tasted delicious. For the first time since seeing her, Derek allowed his ardor free reign. His cock hardened immediately the moment her tongue touched his. Languidly expressive at the outset, their first kiss soon intensified. Her fingers tightened on his arms as her body relaxed against his chest.

Derek slid one hand around her shoulders to pull her closer into his frame. She moaned into his mouth and his hips pressed forward of their own accord. His cock was fully unfurled and ready to make her his bride in the flesh. He wouldn’t allow his unruly dick to guide him, but the interesting morning starting with the endless wait, the announcement of no bride to suddenly acquiring the best bride imaginable seeped into his mind.

Clarissa backed up a step and pulled him with her. Her legs bumped into the foot of the bed and she startled enough to break their kiss. Panting softly, she lifted her face to look deeply into his eyes. “I’m frightened of the way you make me feel.”

“You have nothing to fear from me or Logan, I swear it.” His hand brushed down her lovely face. He lowered his mouth to hers and again kissed her until she relaxed against him again.

Derek sensed Logan watching them. The sexual visuals gliding across his mind involving the three of them with regard to the coming afternoon and evening aroused him to a level he’d never been before. He pulled away and released her lips with regret.

“I believe Logan would like to kiss you again, too.”

She blinked and turned her gaze to Logan. “You two get acquainted while I get undressed.” If the notion of him taking his clothes off made her uncomfortable, she didn’t show it.

Logan stepped into the space he deserted. His arms wrapped solidly around her before he lowered his lips to hers. The bulge evident in his britches told Derek that Logan was just as anxious to get this honeymoon underway.

* * * *

Clarissa kissed Logan and for the second time since she’d entered the hotel room, she was surprised. Derek’s kiss had been aggressive, overwhelming and passionate. Logan’s lips aroused her to a fever pitch as well, but in a completely different way. His kiss was languorous, engaging and irresistible.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Derek remove his shirt and lost all train of thought. Logan paused long enough to see what caught her eye but resumed kissing her as if he saw a man undressing every day. Perhaps he did. However, Clarissa did not. She stiffened in his arms and pulled away. “I need to tell you something.”

“Okay.”

“I’ve heard that most women who opt for this life are of a certain type and I just wanted to let you know that I’m not that type.”

The two men exchanged puzzled glances. Derek finished unbuttoning the top part of his shirt and pulled it off over his head. Muscles rippled beneath his chest, belly and arms distracting her for a moment at the sheer beauty of the male body. The few scars he bore didn’t deflect any appreciation for his physique, but instead, only added interest.

“What type are you?” Derek asked. He zeroed his gaze on her and started unfastening his gun belt.

Clarissa glanced away, reluctant to tear her gaze from his beautiful body. She suspected Logan’s body was muscularly built in a similar way after holding them both.

Logan grinned at her and she forgot the question.

He leaned in and whispered, “It doesn’t matter to us what type of woman you are as long as you’re willing.”

“I’m a virgin,” she blurted. “I know some mail order brides who aren’t and that’s why they choose this life, but I’m different. And I—”

“That’s fine. Don’t worry.” Logan kissed her again and she forgot everything else until a half-dressed Derek slid an arm around her back, burrowed his face into her neck and kissed a sensitive spot below her ear.

With the both of them so close, her heartbeat increased to an alarming rate.

“Let me help you get undressed while Logan gets comfortable.”

Logan stepped away and Clarissa was distracted by Derek’s seduction. Before she realized his intention, her hair spilled out of its twist and a couple of the pins holding it in place fell to the floor. His nimble fingers pulled the remaining ones out and dumped them on a table near the end of the bed. She shook her hair out, reveling in the freedom of her hair flowing loose from the tight bun.

He turned back and started unbuttoning her dress. By the time Logan returned, Derek had her down to only a thin shift, her constricting corset and her stockings. The rest of her petticoats and her traveling dress were placed delicately on a chair near the table. Behind her was the large bed. Would all three of them fit?

She trembled in anticipation of what was to come. One man was alarming enough. The idea of two sent her heart into palpitations.

“We want you to feel comfortable being naked with us from the start.” Logan had removed every stitch and his cock brushed her hip as he hugged her.

“Let’s move closer to the bed,” Derek said and shucked off his pants. He helped her remove the rest of her things, including the tight corset, until the three of them were completely naked.

Derek pulled her into his arms and kissed her lips again. Behind her, Logan hugged up close until she was sandwiched between the two of them. With so much masculine flesh surrounding her, it was difficult not to feel overwhelmed and yet protected at the same time.

“We’re going to take this slow for the first time. We want you to relax.”

Logan sat on the bed and pulled her onto his lap. His cock dented the space along one side of her spine. Derek, meanwhile, bent to kiss her. Calloused hands cupped her breasts, as the engaging kiss continued and the sensation was remarkable. A heat flared deeply within her body. Her womb tightened and a rush of wetness coated her intimate feminine core. When Derek’s hands brushed her face, she realized Logan’s hands were the ones teasing her nipples and another wash of arousal tore through her body. The very idea of being intimate with two men was exhilarating.

Derek pulled his lips from hers slowly and smiled. He soon got on his knees next to the bed and put his hands on her inner thighs.

“Open your thighs a little bit more for me.”

Clarissa widened her legs. Still seated on Logan’s lap, his fingers still gently tweaked her nipples sending spiraling arousal to the space between her legs.